Basic Public Relations

Many think that successful public relations (PR) efforts are solely the result of ingenious strategy and perfectly timed implementation. While that's partially true, your outward appearance has a considerable effect on PR. We all have bad days when we're running late, and once we finally get to work, realize that we forgot some documents at home, or even worse, didn't brush our teeth! But one bad day can create a nearly permanent bad image of your company. You know the basics of presenting yourself well: have good hygiene, dress appropriately, and be neat. Here are a few "advanced" tips to making stunning impressions:
Sometimes in difficult situations, we don’t know what to say. We just don’t have the right words.  Thoughtful verbal discretion is an art, for sure, but it’s something we can all learn with some good examples and practice. So, as part of an ongoing series, we’re going to give you a scenario along with our recommended script.  One of these days, when you find yourself in an awkward situation, you just might be able to hearken back to one of these scripts and use the right words that will help smooth out the situation. After all, that’s the basis of public relations: having good relationships no matter what the scenario.  So here goes.
Many times when we’re prompted by an ad, article, or email to contact a business, we are unable to find adequate contact information for that company. That’s so frustrating, especially when we want to patron that business! In this busy world, people are so used to getting information quickly that they do not want to take the time or added effort to look up a phone number or manually enter in all the information to get the driving directions to a location.  Helping customers contact or get to you fast and easy is critical to making a sale and creating a favorable feeling about your company. Here are a few tips to assist customers in contacting you with ease:
HeartAccording to “Nuts! Southwest Airlines’ Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success,” “In 1989, when the San Francisco Bay area experienced a terrible earthquake, Gary Holloway, then a Southwest employee in Phoenix, thought of a way to help the victims.  He called an ABC television affiliate in Phoenix and asked newscasters to tell viewers to take blankets, clothes, and canned food to the Southwest terminal at Sky Harbor Airport…The outpouring from Phoenix and other Southwest cities was so strong that, when it was all over, Southwest Airlines had flown in more supplies to relieve the victims than anyone else, including the American Red Cross!”
By Michelle Harrington This post is brought to you by Emagine Web Marketing, an associate of Fujita & Miura Public Relations. Emagine Web Marketing is a development and marketing company that helps small businesses expand their reach and increase sales online through innovative and effective web marketing and optimization strategies. Growth is an ever-present, integral part of a successful business. Like a well-tended garden, the growth of your business will remain vital and able to withstand the ever-changing landscape in market and economy. Your website is no different – the success of your website relies on the quality of attention and maintenance you put into it.
blk_dots_white1_400x372We’ve just completed a round of holidays and most of us have spent a good amount of time with friends, family, and co-workers in the process of celebrating.  Though holiday get-togethers can sometimes be stressful, it’s important to recognize how very important they are.  “Psychology Today” recently reported that “In surveys to determine the factors that contribute most to human happiness, respondents consistently rate connection to friends and family-love, intimacy, social affiliation-above wealth or fame, even above physical health...Loneliness isn’t about being alone; it’s about not feeling connected.”
This post is brought to you by guest columnist Ryan Esaki.  Esaki is a Kaua`i entrepreneur, one of the co-founders of the mega-popular ukulele website, ukuleleunderground.com as well as a small independent record label, Town Hero Records LLC. He is also a web strategies consultant.  For more information about Ryan Esaki, go to ryanesaki.com.
Self-Storage-for-Business1We’ve found that while many are calling this a “challenging economy,” many businesses are making the best of the times.  So, if we all can put ourselves in the mindset that challenges are opportunities waiting to be unearthed, then here are three free PR tips for maximizing the times. 1)    Clean up and clear out.  Clutter is useless and takes up space that could be better used.  Having stacks of old things around is also unattractive.  Give your customers, your employees, and yourself more room to move around and a nice, organized space in which to work.  Be merciless about the clearing.  Donate items that you can no longer use to a nonprofit that might be able to use them.  Recycle what you can.  If there are things you absolutely cannot part with, organize them, label them, and put them in storage.  A cleaner, clearer workspace will make everyone feel better – your customers, your employees, and you, and it will symbolically provide the needed open space for useful, and perhaps moneymaking things and ideas.
twitter-blackTwitter, the social networking micro-blogging service, is gaining popularity like wildfire. Everyone from celebrities, news entities, politicians, businesses, non-profit organizations, and individuals like you and me, are using Twitter to connect with their publics.  According to mashable.com, Twitter has an expected 1,192 percent annual growth rate.  That's astounding!  On Kauai, businesses such as No Ka Oi Landscape Service (@NKOLandscape), The Grand Hyatt Kauai (@GHKPoipu), Deja Vu Surf Hawaii (@dejavusurf), and more are tweeting about the latest news and activities in their companies and industries, and even offering exclusive tips and deals for their tweeting customers (check out Bubba Burger @Bubba_Burger).